Mass Balance Approach

Over the past few decades, sustainability has been a growing focus in the building industry, with a significant concentration on reducing embodied carbon. Building industry stakeholders have recognized construction materials’ profound impact on the environment, leading to a heightened emphasis on sustainable practices. As a result, there has been a surge in efforts to minimize embodied carbon, encompassing the entire life cycle of building materials from extraction to disposal. This surge is driven by a growing understanding that sustainable construction practices are economically viable, enhance market competitiveness, and align with evolving regulatory frameworks.

Mass Balance and ISCC Plus Certification

Mass balance is a method used to trace the sustainability and environmental impact of materials within a supply chain. It tracks the use of bio based, recycled, or renewable energy derived feedstocks without requiring physical separation from conventional materials. Instead, companies use accounting systems to allocate sustainability attributes to final products based on the proportion of certified materials used during production. While it does not guarantee that each product contains sustainable content, it offers a transparent and auditable way to demonstrate the overall environmental benefit.

ISCC PLUS is a globally recognized standard that confirms compliance with special sustainability standards. It attests to transparency regarding the traceability of the raw materials used in production processes. By certifying the raw materials, manufacturers can ensure complete traceability of materials from sustainable sources. The ISCC PLUS certification provides a reliable and transparent assurance to
consumers, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies that a product meets the highest international sustainability benchmarks.

Performance Characteristics and Building Owner Benefits

Mass balance allows manufacturers to maintain traditional system performance characteristics and application specifications, allowing seamless integration into projects.

Reduced embodied carbon in building materials helps to address many of the challenges that building owners face in a changing economic and environmental landscape while enhancing their properties’ overall value and sustainability:

1. Climate change mitigation

2. Tenant and investor market demand preferences

3. Future-proofing investments for building code compliance

4. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) scope 3 reductions

Mass balance provides manufacturers an efficient path to incorporate bio-based raw materials into their supply streams. ISCC PLUS certification provides building owners and architects with transparency into these raw materials. Together, these programs are helping to accelerate the introduction and adoption of building products that allow us to meet the growing concern around sustainability in our built environment.